Trump’s NFL ‘son of a b----’ rant is wake-up call for black athletes to stand for social justice

By Len Elmore

|SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Sep 23, 2017 | 9:57 PM

Thank you, Donald Trump. Thank you for awakening the giant I call the "athlete collective," which most prominently includes, the black athlete.

By "playing the dozens" and calling the mothers of athletes who demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the treatment of people of color by police and other government and social entities, "b------," you have opened their eyes.

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Trump's insults have incurred the wrath of young black men and women who might have otherwise sat silent in the face of constant disparagement by the President and many in his base of support.

Alabama may have been the perfect setting for the dog whistling and tossing thinly veiled racist red meat. Trump supporters there responded predictably. However, out of that nonsense comes the hope that young athletes, even from their football power, the University of Alabama, and across the nation begin to survey the spoken, inflicted and endorsed injustices by this President.

Maybe, just maybe, young male and female athletes will understand the presence and the power of the "athlete collective."

President Trump slams protesting football players during a campaign rally for Alabama Sen. Luther Strange on Friday. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Those same Alabama Trump supporters may cheer black athletes on the field in Tuscaloosa only because they wear crimson and white. Yet most of them probably hold those athletes in disdain any other time and anywhere else. This condition is not unique to Tuscaloosa. It could be any stadium or arena in America.

The attitude is even more prevalent on the professional level. Simply ask Colin Kaepernick. The Huntsville, Alabama rally is merely a microcosm of Trump-world across the nation.

As long as black athletes stay in their "lane" and focus on their sport, all is well. Begin to exercise their right as a citizen and somehow they are a "son (or daughter) of a b----."

Ironically, the reason given why the Kaepernick cannot play on an NFL team, that he would be a "distraction," has been repeatedly unmasked as the canard it always was. Laughably, the NFL owners' patriotic hypocrisy subjects the NFL to more Kaepernick protest-based scrutiny than interest in its weekly scores.

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Both the NFL and the NBA are leagues populated by a black majority of players. Until Kaepernick, NFL players were, with a few exceptions, viewed as the "go along, get along" league, submitting to the alleged immense power of its conservative owners.

By contrast, NBA players are more socially active, in part due the notion that NBA owners are more progressive. Judging from social media, Trump may have ignited a fire unto the consciences of those NFL players not normally involved making political statements.

His comments also apparently crossed the line with NFL owners who surprisingly, with some exceptions, registered their repudiation.

By the way, through his Tweet, Trump "disinviting" Steph Curry and his Golden State Warriors from a White House visit before they made a decision, was moot. The Warriors were not going to show up. Trump's severe, un-Presidential narcissism helps depict the Warriors' hesitancy to honor the invite in childish terms of a jilted suitor who rejects before rejection.

Trump uninvited Stephen and his Golden State Warriors from a White House visit before they made a decision. (Janie McCauley/AP)

Normally, I decline participating in "whataboutism" because it often yields too many false equivalencies. Yet, this comparison screams for it. In January 2012, when goalie Tim Thomas of the then NHL champion Boston Bruins refused to attend their White House reception due to his right wing allegiances, President Barack Obama handled it with the grace and confidence of the most powerful man in the world.

President Trump's willingness to demonize U.S. citizens for exercising rights guaranteed by a Constitution that applies to all, as opposed to immediately rejecting white supremacy or even criticizing Russia and Putin for objectively attempting to hijack our democracy, should serve as a clarion wake-up call to every athlete, in fact, every American, influential or not.

In response to Trump's insults, athletes and fair-minded fans, together, ought to stand for social justice and affirmation of one's right to peaceably dissent, even if the dissenters sit for our national anthem.

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To paraphrase a statement attributed to Voltaire, the French philosopher, we can disagree with what is peacefully said but we must defend the right to express it.

Len Elmore is a lawyer and former player in the National Basketball Association. (Michael Stewart/WireImage)

That concept is a precious pillar of our democracy and the basis for dialog. Rather than continue the divisiveness, it is time to unify the American people by supporting legitimate freedom of speech and peaceful dissent.

In these days and times, initiating earnest dialog as Kaepernick and others have, may be a most significant way that those blessed with the skill to play the games in college or the pros, can meaningfully contribute to society.

Len Elmore is a lawyer and former player in the National Basketball Association.